Last may, with a provision n. 26597, The Competiton and Market Authority (AGCM or Antitrust Authority), imposed a three million euro penalty on Whatsapp for violating the privacy of its users.

In august of 2016, the American company modified contractual terms of the use of the app, foreseeing the exchange of personal data of its users with the Facebook. For those who were already users at the time the modification was made, there was a possibility of partial acceptance of the new terms of use, meaning that they could decide wheather or not to share the personal data with Facebook. The new users, however, were made to believe that if they do not accept the new terms and agree to share personal data with Facebook, they couldn’t use the app at all. This type of behaviour by the company was found to be fraudulent by the Antitrust Authority following the investigations commenced in October 2016 for violation of Articles 20, 24 and 25 of the Privacy Code.

Furthermore, WhatsApp was sanctioned for an additional conduct, as the new clauses contained in contractual terms were considered irregular by AGCM. In particular, the Authority contested the clauses which provided:

- Excessive limitation of WhatsApp's liability, including one resulting from its own nonfullfilment;

- the possibility of interrupting the service or terminating the contract at any time and without notice.

Even though it is a relatively trenchant punishment when compared to the revenue of a company like WhatsApp, it can without a doubt be asserted that protecting the privacy of users is becoming more and more of a central issue for the Antitrust Authority.